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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · craft · lean · club · spring · bear · present · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — the season
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — boats
  5. club — for golf
  6. craft — a skill
  7. lean — thin
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — there
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — to bend
  21. present — a gift
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com